Crown-cork seal.



G. F. KNOX.

CROWN CORK SEAL. APPLICATION FILED MMM, 191s. BBNBWBD JAN. 1s, 1915.

1,1 29,578. Patented IFeb. 23, 1915.

GEORGE F. KNOX, OF MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN.

CROWN-CORK SEAL.

Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 23, 1915.

Application iiled March 6, 1913, Serial No. 752,370. Renewed January 13, 1915. Serial No. 2,071.

T0 all who/mit may concern Be it known that I, GEORGE F. KNOX, a subject of the King of England, and resident of Milwaukee, ilfthe county of Milwaukee and State of Wisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Crown-Cork Seals; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

The primary object of my invention is to provide simple means for increasing the efficiency in sealing vessels wherein the crown cork type is employed, such increased eiliciency being at the same time accomplished without increasing the cost of manufacture.

Specific objects of my invention are to provide two or more annular contact points about the mouth rim of a vessel or bottle, which points are adapted to be engaged by Athe cork disk that is employed in conjunction with the standard metallic crown, whereby the-contact points referred to constitute a multiple seat which will thus insure the desired hermetic seal, and to provide a Iron-porous facing sheet for the cork disk, wherein the sealis employed in bottling mineral waters, charged beverages or the like, the facing sheet serving to prevent contact of the liquid with the cork body and its consequent detrimental effects.

lVith the above and other minor objects in view the invention consists in certain peculiarities of construction and combination of parts as set forth hereinafter with reference to the accompanying illustrations and subsequently claimed.

In the drawings Figure l represents an enlarged sectional elevation of a bottle-head and cap-closure therefor embodying .the features of my invention; Fig. la, a similar fragmentary section, the section being ,taken upon a line intersecting a pore of the cork' filler to more clearly illustrate the effect of closing said pore incidental to pressure being applied to the cap; Fig. 2, a similar fragmentary sectional View of a cap closure embodying the features of my invention, showingthe application thereto of a pliable facing sheet, whereby the cork is insulated from the liquid contained within the bottle; Fig. 2a, a similar sectionalA View illustrating the cap-closure after it is subjected to pressure and vexpansion by heat, whereby the facing'sheet is separated at the point subjected to the greatest strain; Fig.

3, a fragmentary plan View of one form of pliable facing sheet embodying the features of my invention; Figs. 4 and 4a, fragmentary sectional views exemplifying a sealing operation wherein a standard type of crown cork and bottle is employed, the said views illustrating the effect produced upon a porous cork in conjunction with the rim of a bottle having a single point of Contact, and Fig. 5, a sectional view of another form of my invention.

Referring to the eXempliication of the prior art as illustrated in Figs. 4 and 4a of the drawings, in ordinary crown corking and sealing it has been found in practice that owing to the lspongy or porous consistency of the cork disk a when said disk is subjected to suiiic'ient pressure upon the high face b of the curved rim of a bottlehead, the said curved rim constitutes a single point of contact or ridge. v In such cases the tendency of the cork disk is to break or open at the point of contact and thus the seal is rendered imperfect, resulting in a large percentage of the bottled product being damaged by exposure to atmospheric conditions. l Thus it will be seen that unlessthe face of the cork be absolutely perfect, the singlev contact point of its engagement with the rim of the bottle will notefect a hermetic seal. This tendency of the cork disk to break at the seating point or ridge is still further increased should a hole c, constituting one of the pores of the disk, be alined with the seating point, in which instance the pressure and expansion or swelling of said disk due to steaming, tends to open up kor exaggerate the pore, causing breakage of the disk at this weakened point, whereby leakage will occur about the mouthrim as indicated by the arrow in Fig. ta. Thus the purpose of my invention is to overcome the above objections and supply-a multiplicity of seating faces whereby, should ar hermetic seal not be effected by the first one j' of the seating faces or beads, the leakage.

will be cut off by one or the other of theauxiliary contact points, there being preferably three in number.

Referring by characters to the drawings,

Figs. 1 to 3 inclusive, 1 represents a portion of the neck and head of a bottle, and 2 the crown-bead thereof, which bead merges into a rim 3 that is formed about the bottle mouth. The rim 3, as shown, is provided groove 4, which groove divides said rim into parallel inner and outer semicircular beads 5 and 5y constituting high smooth points of contact. Hence it will be seen that the rim face is formed with a centrally disposed V- shaped annular groove the inclined walls of which are tangentially merged into the opposite inner circular walls of the-beads, whereby the high surfaces are smoothly rounded and are joined by the tangential faces constituting ,the wall grooves.

A represents a standard cork disk that is seated within the usual metallic crown B, the apron C of which crown is adapted to be contracted about the mouth rim 3 by subjecting the crown to inward pressure through a suitable die, co-incident with a downward pressure thereof, this capping operation being ordinarily employed and forms no part of my invention.

In Fig. 1 the cork disk A is shown in l dotted lines, in the position it assumes prior to pressure being applied thereto, with its lower face resting upon the high points or beads of the mouth rim, the formation assumed by said disk, after it is subjected to pressure, being shown lin full lines in said view. Hence it isapparent that when the corkdisk is expanded it will fill out all the crevices about the face of the rim, whereby it is forced snugly down into the groove 4L and also about-the walls and high points of the rim beads 5 and 5, whereby three distinct points of contact between the rim and cork will result and owing to the fact that the center point of contact is upon a lower or different plane than that of the inner and outer contact points, a perfect hermetic seal will result. This seal is rendered impregnable due to the fact that should the first or inner seal between the ridge 5 and cork be defective further leakage of gases or liquid will be cut o by the base of the groove, which forms a central seal in connection with the expanded cork. It follows that should this seal in turn be defective that the outer seal between the cork and ridge would produce the desired results, making in all a triple seal which for practical purposes is suiiicient to insure perfect bottling under the most disadvantageous conditions.

It is obvious that, owing to the uninterrupted high and low surfaces of the rim, when the crown cork is expanded in the usual manner by heat, the particles of the swollen cork are capable of flowing in both directions over the semicircular beads to fill the V-shaped groove without any tendency of breaking the cork member. v

To prevent the contamination of mineral waters or the likethrough contact with the cork disk I provide a pliable facing sheet 7 for the disk as shown in Fig. 2, the same being preferably composed of tinfoil or like swell downwardly to fill the annular groove l as previously stated. It is apparent that vfected at the center of the rim, the remainsubstance and isl of an approximate diameter corresponding to the diameter of the disk, being shown lapped about its edges.

As shown in Fi'g. 2, when the crown and cork disk, equipped with the metallic facing sheet, is inserted overthe mouth of the bottle and thereafter subjected to pressure, as shown in Fig. 2a, the result of said pressure and steaming will cause the cork to such downward swell of the cork within the groove will cause the facing sheet 7 to break at this point due to the fact that the high ridges 5 and 5 on either side of the groove have, in conjunction with the cork disk, effected a double grip upon said facing sheet. When this separation of the facing sheet takes place the cork fiber at the base of the groove is exposed, whereby a seal is effected at this point between the naked cork and vitreous material from which the bottles or vessels are. ordinarily formed. It is also apparent that while a cork joint is efing two high points of contact formed by the ridges 5 and 5 are sealed metallically by the interpsed surfaces of the facing sheet, the inner metallic seal being 'sufficient to prevent the leakage of liquid from the vessel or its contact with the cork surface, whereby acids are generated incidental to the exposure of the cork fiber with said liquids. v

As shown in Fig. 3, I may, in, some instances, provide the pliable metallic facing sheet 7 with some form of circular perforation 8 adjacent to its edge or otherwise score the sheet in such manner that it will separate under pressure and expansion of the cork, upon the weakened line, the separation leaving the facing sheet in the form of a disk, the edges of which are gripped b v the ridge 5 and a detachable ring portion 8 will form a metallic outer sealing joint in conjunction with the ridge 5.

Referring to Fig. 1'LL of the drawings the cork disk is illustrated as having a hole or pore c therein, which pore is centrally alined with relation to the rim-groove l. In this position the pore c referred to will tend to close up under the compression and steaming operation incidental to capping the bottlc, due to the fact that the fiber of the cork in expanding into the groove, will flow downward as indicated upon opposite sides of said pore, thus tending to contract the same instead of expanding as in instances previously described wherein a pore of the cork is inadvertently alined with the single compression point of a bottle rim.

It is also apparent, as shown in Fig. 5, that the crown cap may be formed with a circular male bead d which will forcibly miol the cork disk downwardly into the groove 4: of the vessel mouth rim. In this instance the cork disk is made in the form of a ring a and the center portion of the crown B is depressed in such manner that when the closure is seated against the bottle rim the depressed metallic portion of the crown enters the mouth of the bottle and thus the disk a or gasket is housed whereby fine particles of the cork which would tend to Slough oli' are prevented from dropping into the liquid. The depressed portion of the crown cap also serves to present a metallic face to the liquid which'is desirable as previously stated when the container is used in connection with mineral waters or the like. 4

I claim:

1. A Vessel for crown corks having a mouth-rim provided with a closure seat comprising inner and outer semicircular beads, and a centrally disposed annular V-shaped groove, the ob ique side-Walls of the groove being tangentially merged into the opposite inner terminals of the semicircular beads,

whereby a crown cork is capable, when expanded, of unobstructedly {iowing in opposite directions about the semicircular beads into the V-shaped groove to fill lthe same.

2. A seal-joint comprising a vessel-mouth provided with a rim, a plurality of spaced annular sealing surfaces formed in the rim, a cap-inclosed sealing disk adapted to be seated upon the rim, and a pliable metallic facing sheet for the disk interposed betweensaid disk and seating surfaces of the rim, the said sheet being weakened upon a line intermediate of the seating surfaces.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand at Milwaukee in the county of Milwaukee and State'oi Wisconsin, in the presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE F. KNOX. lVitnesses:

CLEO W. YOUNG M. E. DowNEY. 

